Donal O'Driscoll  ✍ Disappointing to me as an Irish republican socialist to see so much anti-immigration sentiment springing up around the place. 

To the extent that even non-white Irish people, born in Ireland and who have known nothing but Ireland are being subjected to appalling racism.

Migration is as old as time, people have always migrated, they always will. Go back something like 4-5 generations on my mother's side and I'm English. Do I consider myself English? Fuck no! I'm not Joe Biden, romanticising vague links to other nations. However, the point is, go back far enough, we're all migrants. We certainly all know people who have migrated themselves.

The bigots and their enablers will talk about genuine concerns about immigration. However , just because a concern is genuine, doesn't mean it's based on anything real.

If toxic people are constantly feeding you made up bs about migration, of course people will be concerned. It's like that Simpsons episode where the people want to get rid of the bears but when told they will have to pay more tax, they get angry. So Mayor Quimby tells them immigration is the issue. Moe (an immigrant himself) responds with the classic line Immigrants "Immigrants! I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them! You see, Moe was only responding rationally to irrational fears forced on him by conniving people. The same way as ordinary decent Germans bought into the Nazi lie.

We all face our own societal problems, different problems, but what they all have in common is none of them were caused by immigration. Don't blame Rashid in your local Spar or Carmen the Filipino nurse wiping the shit off your granddad's arse. Blame the political and economic interests that caused them. I'm as Irish as any of the people shouting about our country being full and I'm not ashamed to say as far as I'm concerned, immigrants are welcome here. 

Hate mongers like Derek Blighe don't speak for me.

Donal O'Driscoll is political activist from West Cork.

We're All Migrants

Donal O'Driscoll  ✍ Disappointing to me as an Irish republican socialist to see so much anti-immigration sentiment springing up around the place. 

To the extent that even non-white Irish people, born in Ireland and who have known nothing but Ireland are being subjected to appalling racism.

Migration is as old as time, people have always migrated, they always will. Go back something like 4-5 generations on my mother's side and I'm English. Do I consider myself English? Fuck no! I'm not Joe Biden, romanticising vague links to other nations. However, the point is, go back far enough, we're all migrants. We certainly all know people who have migrated themselves.

The bigots and their enablers will talk about genuine concerns about immigration. However , just because a concern is genuine, doesn't mean it's based on anything real.

If toxic people are constantly feeding you made up bs about migration, of course people will be concerned. It's like that Simpsons episode where the people want to get rid of the bears but when told they will have to pay more tax, they get angry. So Mayor Quimby tells them immigration is the issue. Moe (an immigrant himself) responds with the classic line Immigrants "Immigrants! I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them! You see, Moe was only responding rationally to irrational fears forced on him by conniving people. The same way as ordinary decent Germans bought into the Nazi lie.

We all face our own societal problems, different problems, but what they all have in common is none of them were caused by immigration. Don't blame Rashid in your local Spar or Carmen the Filipino nurse wiping the shit off your granddad's arse. Blame the political and economic interests that caused them. I'm as Irish as any of the people shouting about our country being full and I'm not ashamed to say as far as I'm concerned, immigrants are welcome here. 

Hate mongers like Derek Blighe don't speak for me.

Donal O'Driscoll is political activist from West Cork.

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